by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Mar 6, 2021 | Maintenance Management, Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
Much attention is paid to the foundational elements that are necessary to ensure equipment and process reliability in plants. Still, in the end, reliability really comes down to people employing tools and materials to effectively execute maintenance plans. That is the...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Feb 28, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
Mean time to repair/restore (MTTR) is the maintenance metric that summarizes the historical time taken to make necessary repairs and adjustments to return equipment to its desired operational state. In other words, “Fix it fast, fix it right.” When I ponder the...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Feb 22, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
I was recently listening to a radio interview of the great Frank Oz. You may recall that Oz is the master puppeteer and voice behind such iconic Muppets and Sesame Street characters as Miss Piggie, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Cookie Monster, Grover, and Bert, as well as Yoda...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Feb 14, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
Have you noticed shortages of food products, lumber, concrete, parts, supplies, and power tools, among other things? Many people are puzzled by shortages of what used to be common items in the marketplace. There are other shortages as well. COVID-19 and a volatile...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Feb 6, 2021 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files
Today (in 2021) as in 1975, I count bright Failure Investigators and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) among my trusted briefers and updaters. One of them recently sent me a 58-second YouTube video clip (TikTok Edition) of a hole-test exercise that caught my attention. In...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jan 31, 2021 | Maintenance Management, Newsletter Column
“Why do we need to fill out these work orders anyway? They’re just trying to micro-manage us. I’m not going to do it. Let’s just do things like we’ve always done.” Sound familiar? Maintenance work orders are often seen as an extra burden to maintainers, as well as to...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Jan 24, 2021 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column, RAM's Human Factor
I routinely teach courses and workshops on various aspects of equipment-asset management, reliability engineering, and precision and proactive maintenance. During those sessions, I frequently refer metaphorically to parts of the human body and what causes it to be...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jan 17, 2021 | Newsletter Column, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
Lean times are here again. Travel is out, and for good reason. Training is on hold, as it has been on several occasions since 1950. We know this because tough times have descended upon us before. What’s different now is the driving public has become the shut-in public...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Jan 10, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
While driving my car several weeks ago, I felt a slight vibration in the steering wheel. I initially thought it might be due to snow buildup in one of the front wheels, but a visual check revealed clean wheels. During my next drive, though, the vibration became...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, T.A. Cook/Accenture, Editor | Jan 3, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM's Human Factor
As maintenance and reliability professionals, we love rules of thumb and other easy-to-implement, tried-and-true solutions to problems. Experts who specialize in the human factors of failure refer to rules of thumb as “heuristics.” The reason we like...
